Walking Liberty Half Dollar

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Walking Liberty Half Dollar

Walking Liberty Half Dollar

Walk into Liberty's world Walk right into the world of collecting Walking Liberty half dollar coins, a series struck between 1916 and 1945. Adolph A. Weinman's obverse design for the Walking Liberty half dollar has been hailed as one of the greatest of all time...READ MORE

Walking Liberty Half Dollar

Walking Liberty Half Dollar

Walk into Liberty's world
Walk right into the world of collecting Walking Liberty half dollar coins, a series struck between 1916 and 1945. Adolph A. Weinman's obverse design for the Walking Liberty half dollar has been hailed as one of the greatest of all time. It depicts a full-length allegorical Liberty striding left, garbed in the stars and stripes of Old Glory. Liberty carries in her left hand branches of laurel and oak. Her right hand is outstretched as she walks toward the dawn of a new day represented by the rising sun with rays, behind some low hills. A large, plain field is on the right, at Liberty's back. Dominating the reverse is a left-facing fearless and powerful eagle captured with his wings about to unfold to begin flight from his perch atop a mountain crag. In the foreground is a mountain pine sapling springing from a rift in the rock. Open field space occupies a very small portion of the reverse. Weinman had a busy year in 1916. His models for the dime and half dollar won coinage design contests. They have remarkably similar heads, although the depiction of Liberty on the half dollar does not have a winged cap. The D Mint mark for Denver or S for San Francisco appears in the obverse field on all 1916 and early 1917 issue Walking Liberty half dollars. The Mint mark was moved to below and to the left of the mountain pine near the rim on the reverse beginning later in 1917. Various repunched Mint mark varieties are cataloged for the series. The coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint without a Mint mark. A problem encountered throughout the series is the typical weak strike. The obverse facial details and hand holding a branch are typically weak. The hand is directly in line with the high points of the eagle's breast and left leg on the reverse, which is also typically either weakly struck or the first place to wear. There simply wasn't enough metal to properly fill those design elements. There are a number of challenging key dates to seek out in this series. Nine issues have a mintage of less than 1 million pieces each. These are 1916, 1916-S, 1917-D (on obverse), 1917-S (on obverse), 1919, 1921, 1921-D, 1921-S and 1938-D coins. The lowest mintage of all is 1921-D half dollar at 208,000 pieces. The Walking Liberty half dollar appears in U.S. Proof sets of 1936 to 1942. The 1936 has the lowest Proof mintage at 3,901 pieces. The highest mintage is 21,120 pieces for 1942. There are early dated Proofs struck individually, rather than for sets. There are, as an example, at least three known Satin Finish Proofs of the 1917 half dollar. There are two varieties of the 1941 Proof coin, with and without the designer's initials. It took seven revisions before the Weinman design could be used on the half dollar. This was due to the high relief in several places. Patterns exist of the Walking Liberty half dollar in several stages of its development. Although officially none of these patterns were ever released, examples are known in private hands. The design for the half dollar could be legally changed after July 1, 1941, 25 years having passed since its introduction. However, wartime demands on the Mint allowed this design to continue through 1947. The Walking Liberty half dollar was replaced with a design depicting Benjamin Franklin in 1948.

Walking Liberty half dollar

Date of authorization:

April 2, 1792

Dates of issue:

1916-1947

Designer:

Adolph Weinman

Engraver:

Charles Barber

Diameter:

30.61 mm/1.21 inches

Weight:

12.50 grams/0.40 ounce

Metallic content:

90% silver, 10% copper

Weight of pure silver:

11.25 grams/0.36 ounce

Edge:

Reeded

Mint mark:

(1916): Obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST(1917): Obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST or reverse lower left A bell ringer

Coin values search results

LIBERTY CAP RIGHT HALF CENT

THE SMALLEST DENOMINATION

Although it may seem unusual today, the United States government once issued a coin worth less than one cent: the half cent. The copper U.S. half cent was authorized for production on April 2, 1792. During its 64-year lifespan as a circulating denomination, five different basic design types of the tiny (0.93-inch) coin were struck. The coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint and do not have a Mint mark. The half cent's designers and engravers are among the best known names in U.S. Mint design/engraving history: Adam Eckfeldt, Robert Scot, John Gardner, Gilbert Stuart, John Reich and Christian Gobrecht. Designs for the half cent were also used on other denominations through the years. The 1793 Liberty Cap half cent features a lettered edge stating TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR. The obverse depicts a bust of Liberty with flowing hair, facing left. A Liberty Cap on a pole rests on her right shoulder giving the design its name, the Liberty Cap. The design for the Liberty Cap half cent was based on Agustin Dupre's Libertas Americana medal. Half cents struck between 1794 and 1797 bear another Liberty Cap design, this one facing right, and issued in Plain Edge, Lettered Edge and Gripped Edge varieties. From 1800 to 1808 the Draped Bust design was used on half cents. All half cents bearing those dates are Plain Edge varieties. The Classic Head design was used on half cents struck between 1809-1836. From 1849 to 1857, a Coronet design with Plain Edge was used. All half cents have a wreath on the reverse. The key dates in the series are 1793; 1796, No Pole; 1802/0, Reverse of 1800; and 1831.